I want to thank @netgalley for the #gifted copy in exchange for an honest review.
Well this wasn't my favorite, unfortunately. There were quite a few things I found problematic, but here's a brief overview...
The cover/blurb/title led me to believe this was a paranormal romance (I've seen a lot of other people who thought the same), so I was a bit confused for a while when that wasn't the case. It's more of a romcom that has a sprinkle of dark romance vibes.
The FMC has a chronic illness and I enjoyed seeing that in a romance! The MMC has PTSD, and I thought it was handled well.
The story itself was a bit kooky
There are some things that the MMC does (as a result of his PTSD?) that I'm really not a fan of. We will just call him "protective".
The humor is…..hmmm...cringy. There are definitely some jokes that I'm really not sure should have made it into the book. Borderline racist, but most definitely inappropriate/insensitive. I think this is what solidified my feelings on the book.

Our main character, Cady, runs a bookstore in the small PNW town of Townsend Harbor. Each week, a mysterious man with a sultry voice that goes by the moniker “Fox” calls in to the Nevermore Bookstore. With every call, he places a large book order and the two converse about books with a pinch of casual flirting. Cady knows very little about Fox and he prefers it that way.

Early on we learn about Cady’s chronic illness; ankylosing spondylitis and the author’s did a great job of portraying the ups and downs of chronic illness. They also delve into the topic of PTSD and the debilitating effects it can have on one’s life and their relationships.

My thoughts:
One word. Fox. Heck, I was falling for him after that first conversation! Him and Cady had me smiling ear-to-ear that entire exchange and it’s safe to say I was hooked. His internal monologues and self-deprecating quips throughout had me guffawing.

The two main characters have great chemistry, and though they both have a lot to work through and figure out, I was hopeful that they’d find a way to be together. They seemed stronger together and by forcing one another to face some hard truths they were able to grow together.

However, I have a few caveats:
As the story progressed I noticed less of that connection that initially drew me in and in return we got pure lust. I began to miss their banter.

In addition, there were definitely some inconsistencies in character dialogue; specifically regarding Fox. I noticed myself backtracking quite a few times to double check who was actually speaking. On the flip side, everyone’s dialogue - especially that of the insult variety - seemed far too similar. It was a very niche brand of speech that is hard to believe an entire town has in common.

I'd give an overall rating of 3.5 stars. It was a sweet and swoon-worthy story that kept a smile on my face. Those few issues were just a bit too difficult to ignore.

Thank you to the publisher for an eARC via NetGalley. All opinions are honest and my own.

This book really wasn't for me, it felt like chore to continue reading it most of the time. None of the side characters felt real, they existed solely to help Cady's story progress. Also, didn't really like Fox's dynamic with her. It's a shame because I really wanted to like it.

I adored this story. I will read ANYTHING Kerrigan Byrne puts a pen to. I love how she puts words together and described things that are so different but yet you get a vivid picture of what she's describing! The story is written with Cynthia St. Aubin whom I'm not familiar with. This is a small tourist town mystery that has humor and danger and a very different love affair in a delightful bundle. The hero and heroine are both riddled with anxiety and issues. He is a former Ranger who has severe PTSD. The heroine has physical issues and is still mourning over the loss of her aunt who raised her from age sixteen. You put these two colorful people together with a group of friends who are kookie in their own sorts of ways and you have a fabulous community.

Candence "Cady" Bloomquist is a 29 year old librarian who nursed her beloved aunt who died suddenly and left her Townsend Harbor's Nevermore Bookstore housed in a historic building. She's trying to make a go of the store while combing through her aunt's papers trying to locate the deed so she can prove she owns the building willed to her. She's grateful and fascinated by a guy who calls every Thursday night at 8pm to place an order that's keeping her in business. Fox is a voracious reader and Cady lives for his calls when they can talk books, and well, flirt too. One night she has a break in while on the phone with Fox and that changes everything. Fox-Fawkes just can't stay away and their journey to healing and love is a delight to watch develop.

Fox is Roman Fawkes, a 33 year old veteran reclusive survivalist in the mountains above Townsend Harbor. He has severe PTSD and can't be around people or enclosed in a building for long without panic setting in. Truthfully he's in the mountains to die but hasn't managed it yet. His lifeline is Cady and her bookstore. When he's on the phone with her during the break in he has to help her. He calls 911 and hikes three hours down the mountain to be her shadow bodyguard disguised as a vagrant named "Bob". Eventually she sees him and reaches out to give him off the book jobs to help her at the bookstore. As time goes by they develop a friendship that bleeds to more as she figures out Bob is in truth her phone customer Fox.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced readers copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

NEVERMORE BOOKSTORE: Townsend Harbor, Book 1
Kerrigan Byrne & Cynthia St. Aubin, co-authors
Romance

Cady doesn’t know what hit her when her bookstore is broken into while she is on the phone with the mysterious “Fox”. When he hears the commotion over the phone, he knows he must come out of his cloistered lifestyle to help her at least until the threat is over.

This book was a quick easy read with lots of spice and some pretty racy phone calls. It will also have you laughing out loud in parts. I would give this a 5 out of 5 stars and I can’t wait for the second installment of the series from this team of authors.

I wanted to like this, but it just wasn't for me. I like Kerrigan Byrne's Victorian Rebels series, and this book looked so cozy and cute, so I was excited to read it. Unfortunately, it didn't hit the same. I have a hard time with dialogue that doesn't feel genuine or real. I found myself cringing quite a bit as I read, and I really hate that feeling. It makes getting through the book feel like a chore.

Neither of the main characters were likable and, when reading a romance, you want to root the couple. I just couldn't here. Their relationship felt wrong and I simply didn't enjoy their dynamic. Really it just boils down to the cover seemed to offer a cute, cozy grumpy x sunshine, and it didn't deliver.

Thank you NetGalley, the authors and Oliver Heber Books for providing me with a free ARC of this book in return for my honest and personal opinions.

I was really excited to read this but unfortunately did not love it as much as I thought it would. I enjoyed the ending and found it very sweet the way that Fox overcame his PTSD to help Cady keep her bookstore and the way that she built him a greenhouse dome so that he wouldn't feel trapped. I also really liked the representation of chronic illness and PTSD present in the story. However, I found the relationship between the two main characters awkward and forced, and they lacked chemistry in my opinion. There was also a lot of really cringy dialogue which made it hard for me to finish the book.

A broody hero, a quirky heroine and a cozy bookstore….What else could you want?! I loved this book so much and it made me yearn for fall and all things spooky/cozy. The residents of this precious town have such wonderful potential for follow up stories and I can’t wait to get my hands on all of them!

Cute cover, cute premise not my favorite romance I’ve read but not all together bad. Bookstore setting was what really drew me in and the cover. Definitely enjoyed the ride

The title really drew me to this one, who doesn’t love a bookstore romance? But the plot was a bit all over the place. At times, it was quite convoluted, and I wasn’t sure where it was going. I enjoyed the disability and bigger body rep, but unfortunately it wasn’t my favorite storyline by the end. I would check out another book in the series, though. Overall, 3/5 stars.

Thanks to Oliver Heber Books and NetGalley for the free digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. This published on March 28, 2023.

Honestly, I didn't really like the beginning of the book, and I was confused by the first couple chapters. I felt that this book was random because of the many different references, like when Santa was mentioned. It also really tried to be relatable. For example, calling someone a Karen and referencing the pandemic. However, I liked that it was dual POV and grumpy x sunshine. And there were exciting parts of the book that I enjoyed reading, such as the mysterious event at Cady's bookstore and the fight for ownership. The story got more entertaining and interesting as I got towards the middle of the book, and I liked how it ended.

Cady collects taxidermies, owns a bookstore, and gets calls from Fox every Thursday. She is caring, determined, and has been through a lot. Fox is mysterious, protective (maybe a little stalkerish with his binoculars), and has a complicated past. Although, I was honestly debating whether or not he was a werewolf at the beginning. I really enjoyed the ending when he worked through his struggles to help and defend Cady.

Also, I liked Cady's friends, Myrtle, Vee, and especially Gemma who is Cady's best friend. She loves to knit, and she's funny, caring, and sassy. She's always there for Cady to support and encourage her.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

This was such a good book!!
I loved every bit! It's not often we have a FMC who has actual life issues on top of traumatic history that most MCs have. Also the traumatic military history was a great change up too from what I usually read! It makes it real and shows that choosing love is hard and scary for everyone! But it's still possible to make that choice.
As someone who really struggles in the love area and has desperate need for therapy, it's always nice to see the struggling people win! Gives me hope for my future.
I really liked the writing style and Fox was amazing! I wish he was real.

Loved the detailed characters and their history making them all feel so real! The struggles of the building, loss of family members, PTSD, friends and friend arguments: this all made it so real and I was just to invested from the beginning!

I loved every second of this!

When Cady's aunt dies and leaves her the bookstore, she has to deal with not only the loss of the woman who raised her & her own chronic illness but also the burden of keeping her beloved Nevermore bookstore afloat and in her name.

Cady's weekly highlight is when the mysterious Fox calls to make his weekly order. Despite Cady asking they've never met in person, but when the bookstore gets broken into while Fox is on the phone, he knows that he has to keep a closer eye on her.

This book takes us through Fox dealing with his own trauma but not being able to stay away from Cady. Plenty of yearning, spice, and friendships.
I enjoyed reading this book and was entertained throughout and while I enjoy the grump/sunshine trope I at times was questioning whether Fox was even human or if there was a supernatural plot that I was just missing.

I recived this ARC through NetGalley

So based on the cover I did initially think this was a small town paranormal romance, but I enjoyed it even without it being that!
This book also gets bonus points for having a plus size female MC and a book club with a fantastic slogan!
Cady is a plus size woman with a chronic back problem who now owns my whole heart.
This is a contemporary romance - bookshop owner falls in love with mystery customer who calls weekly to order books. Whilst the story between Cady and Fox unfolds we also have a small sprinkle of political intrigue to keep us on our toes! This book doesn’t take itself too seriously and I’ve gotta say I enjoyed the pop culture references, it’s fun!
It’s not a particularly cozy romance read as our male MC spends a lot of time in a bush watching out female MC but it was a fun read!

I wanted so much to love this! I mean who doesn’t love a book set in a bookstore? Unfortunately, this fell a bit flat for me. I was intrigued in the beginning but by the middle I was getting bored. With that said, I would still give the second book in the series a try.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing this arc!

I loved the premise behind this book and the title definitely had appeal. What reader doesn’t dream of opening their own bookstore. The book had great ideas but I did feel that it didn’t quite know what it wanted to be……. Was it Chic-Lit (what I was expecting), was it 50 Shades-esque, and then at times it delved into Jack Ryan mode. Personally not a bad book but not enough of a bedroom door for me :)

This book was not for me. I found the writing to be a little all over the place and had a hard time focusing on the storyline. The potential for the story was there and others may really enjoy it but I just couldn’t connect to the characters and get into the book.

This book was a delight, from the humour, the fantastic cast of secondary characters and then there are the main characters…. The hero is tortured (and maybe a little stalkery) and the heroine is all too relatable, oh and don’t forget the right amount of spice 😉.

Our heroine is the owner of a bookstore and single-handedly one customer, our hero, is keeping her in business by calling every week at the same time and making an order. Week after week they keep talking, which turns into flirting until the heroine wants to meet in person….. Meanwhile a big silent man turns up offering to help out around the place and the heroine does not pick up that it’s our hero 😂.

The hero is so tortured and I loved peeling back the layers to find out his back story. I was surprisingly totally fine with his kinda stalking of the heroine? (Who am I?) I loved the growing relationship between him and the heroine and I loved where the book ended! Honestly can wait for more.

This was a super fun reading! I loved the dual POV and thought it was a story very reminiscent of Tessa Bailey novels.

Thank you to netgally for this book in exchange for an honest review!

I really wanted to enjoy the book, I really did. First things first, Cady’s chronic illness was portrayed fantastically. She was funny and hopeful and battled so hard each day to live her life to the fullest. Fox was also in a battle of his own. He was trapped inside his own mind, yet clung to one phone call each week.

And I think that phone call is what frustrates me. We never find out how or why he started calling. I also don’t know exactly how to describe what I’m feeling, but I felt as though everything was fairly surface level? The emotion was there, but it never really felt super deep for me. The who plot outside Cady and Fox was forgettable and I couldn’t keep myself in it. I love the two of them, but the plot never sucked me in.

I received an ARC of this book through NetGalley and my reviews are my own.